Check out Orion and his dogs amid winter constellations

Updated 8:45 am, Tuesday, January 1, 2013

The first few days of January bring us an assortment of night sky treasures.

Let's begin with a few Hubble Space Telescope passes.

Our first Hubble viewing opportunity is 6:52 p.m. Tuesday. The Hubble arrives from the west as a moving speck of golden light. It will pass high in the south and then fade from sight in the east just above the belt stars of Orion at 6:58 p.m. If you miss this one, don't worry — there's another chance at 6:47 p.m. Wednesday.

Just gaze toward the west for a moving stellar point of light. Just like the previous night, the HST will pass high in the south and then fade from view in the east at 6:54 p.m. It will vanish at a point just below the three belt stars of Orion.

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Now is the perfect time to admire the Great Orion Nebula. It is easy to spot as a bright patch of light below the belt stars of Orion.

You'll need to search with binoculars to bring this faint target into view unless you are hunting from a dark rural area where city lights are not an issue and you can find it with the naked eye. Once found, the nebula is a hypnotic maze of light and stars. A telescope is best for studying the subtle intricacies of the nebula, but there's also a lot to see with binoculars so don't think it's a lost cause just because you don't have a telescope.

The moon won't be a nuisance until after 10 p.m., so there's plenty of extra time to cruise around the sky and enjoy a few winter constellations.

The first one is Canis Major, or the big dog, and it's a breeze to find below and left of Orion. Just look for the bright star Sirius and you're there.

Canis Minor, the little dog, can be found trailing behind Orion and above Canis Major. Procyon is the brightest star in Canis Minor, and since there are only two noticeable stars in this constellation, most astronomers refer to this one as the weenie dog.

If you need a star chart to help sort out Orion and his hunting dogs, there's an easy to use guide at skymaps.com.

Speaking of star charts, my favorite is the “Bright Star Atlas” by Tirion and Skiff. It's easy to use, has loads of information and can be purchased for less than $10.

It doesn't matter if you're an old pro, or you've just started studying the sky, this book of star maps will keep you occupied for years.